Valentine's DayDjinni Style
by EchoKazul
Summary: The djinn decide to throw a Valentine's Day party for the Adepts. Yeah. Doesn't need a lot of explaining, does it?


Woo! My first Holiday Story! And may it not be the last! And, as a little author note here, anytime the name Echo is mentioned, it's the djinn Echo, not the author. Geez, if I had known Camelot was going to use my name...! ^_^  
  
Anyways, Enjoy!  
  
*EchoKazul doesn't own Golden Sun. Thank goodness, after working with all these djinn!*  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Stage One:Planning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Flint stopped his pacing and turned to the other seventy-one djinn lined up in eight rows, some listening intently, some looking bored, and, in the case of several of the Mars djinn, some looking as if they were being delayed from their plans of World Domination and Stuff, and were barely tolerating that fact.  
  
His blue eyes narrowed, and he looked them over. As the first djinn to join the humans, he was as close to a leader as they had, besides the adepts themselves. "Alright, we don't have much time. We are going to throw the best and most romantic Valentine's Dinner for our Adepts that ever was! Is that understood?"  
  
There was a chorus of mumbled 'yes's, a few enthusiastic 'of course!'s, several 'whatever's, and one or two 'huh?'s.  
  
Flint accepted this. It was a normal response for the djinn. "We have five couples here, Isaac and Mia, Ivan and Sheba, Garet and Jenna, Felix and Feizhi, and Picard and Hama. They deserve the best Valentine's Day they can get! Will the group leaders come up here, and we'll assign tasks?"  
  
Each Adept so far had nine djinn, and one djinn was designated leader of that particular group. Flint, besides leading all the djinn (when they actually united over one purpose) was the leader of Isaac's group of djinn. Forge led Garet's group, Gust (unfortunately for them) was the leader of Ivan's djinn, Fizz was Mia's, Echo (the djinn, not the author!) directed the djinn under Felix's services, Cannon helped Jenna, Breath was Sheba's, and Fog captained Picard's group.  
  
After the eight leading djinn assembled up front, Flint nodded. "Alright, suggestions for the Valentine Supper?"  
  
"Flowers!" Flower the Venus djinn hollered out. She had a daisy chain around her plump brown neck and a group of small purple violets behind one of the spikes on top of her head.  
  
"Yes, Flower." Flint sighed. "We won't forget the flowers."  
  
Fizz nodded. "I do believe it's customary for humans to have red roses around this time of year."  
  
Flower looked pleading. "Please? Can I be in charge of the flowers?" Reflux the Mars Djinni snorted. "No! She'll just mess it up!"  
  
"No I won't!" Flower retorted.  
  
"I will...RULE THE WORLD!!" Fury the Mars Djinni suddenly exploded.  
  
"Yes, that's very nice Fury." Fog said absently. "I think that it'd be alright for Flower to make the roses. She'll put a lot of care into each one, that's sure enough! Maybe a few more Venus djinn should work on a few more flowers, though. Just so we can decorate the room a little more."  
  
Echo nodded. "Good idea, Fog." She thought for a moment before speaking out loud. "I think Vine, Sap, and Mud should do a good job."  
  
The three Venus Djinn mentioned agreed to the task, and they continued. Flint glanced up. "Rime and Geode, haven't you two been learning to read?"  
  
The Mercury and Venus Djinn glanced at each other, before Rime answered hesitantly. "Well, yeah, but we really aren't good at it yet. Haven't really done anything beyond three-letter words, ya know."  
  
Flint nodded. "Yeah, well, do you think you can make name cards that we can put by each of the Adept's plates?"  
  
Geode shrugged. "Well, I'm not really sure how to spell each of their names, but we got a pretty good grasp on how to sound out words. I think we can!"  
  
Flint smiled, an odd feat for a djinn. "Good!"  
  
Fizz looked thoughtful. "How about music? Or poetry?"  
  
Gust's face lit up. "Hey, I wrote a poem about Ivan! Wanna hear it?"  
  
"NO!!" there was a slight echo as almost every single one of the seventy- one djinn glared at her venomously. Gust's crush on Ivan was well known.  
  
Breath shuddered, then looked thoughtful. "Ether, Waft, and Haze, how about that song you three were working on?"  
  
The three Jupiter djinn looked surprised. "Us?!" They exclaimed in one voice.  
  
"Yeah!" Breath said enthusiastically. "Who better to make music then the Djinn of the Wind?"  
  
"Soon the world will tremble under my flames!" Fury muttered. "Then all will know the meaning of...FEAR!"  
  
"Fury, shut up!" Forge said thoughtfully. "What I wanna know is, who's going to cook?"  
  
"And what are we going to cook?" Cannon asked.  
  
"And how well do we want it done?" Torch asked, a glint in his eyes. "I personally vote 'extra crispy'."  
  
Flint thought for a moment. "Well..." he said after a moment. "I know the humans all like turkey."  
  
"Mash potatoes!" Salt the Venus Djinn yelled out. "With gravy!"  
  
"Pie!" Aroma the Jupiter Djinn volunteered.  
  
"How about a soup as an appetizer?" Tonic said shyly.  
  
Flint nodded decisively. "Good! Here's the plan. Kindle, Spark, Fugue, and Core, you four are the least pyro out of all the Mars Djinn, as odd as that sounds. You four are in charge of, well, basically the fires in the kitchen. As there is four of you, you can also take care of the turkey."  
  
There was a chorus of disappointed groans from the remaining Mars Djinn. All except Fury, who was planning out the slave quarters for his fortress when he conquered this pitiful planet.  
  
Flint continued. "Kite, Luff, and Aroma, you three Jupiter djinn are in charge of the pies, Tonic and Spring, you two get the soup duty, and Salt and Meld, make the mashed potatoes."  
  
"With gravy!" Salt reminded him happily.  
  
"Everybody else, help us get the barn ready!" Flint commanded. "Now, go!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Stage Two: Preparations~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Rime held the pencil in her clawed tail, tapping it thoughtfully as she stared at the paper in front of her.  
  
Geode finished the last heart drawing. "There!" he said proudly. "Perfect! Now all we need to do is write their names on them!"  
  
Rime glanced at him nervously. "Do you have any idea how to?"  
  
Geode shrugged. "No, but how hard can it be? We'll just sound them out! Let's start with Isaac!"  
  
The both sat and thought for a bit. "Isaac." Rime said thoughtfully. "I- saac." Her face brightened up. "Hey, I know how to spell 'I'! Remember? Kraden showed us last time we followed Felix and Picard up to his hut?"  
  
She carefully wrote on the name card as neatly as she could. "E...Y...E...There!" She admired the lettering. "Eye!"  
  
Geode nodded. "Good! Now, the rest...Isaac...Hmmm....I-s-aa-c. Do you think that's an 's' or a 'c'?"  
  
Rime thought. "I think it's an 's'" She wrote down an 's'. "The next letter is definitely an 'a', but what about the next sound?"  
  
"'k', definitely." Geode said confidently.  
  
Rime wrote it down, and looked over her handiwork proudly. "Eyesak! Yup! That sounds right!"  
  
"Ivan would be similar, I suppose, as they both start with an 'Eye'!" Geode commented.  
  
And thus the next name card soon read 'Eyeven'  
  
"Who next?" Rime asked, pulling another card close to her.  
  
"Mia!" Geode said, nodding his head. "That one sounds easy!"  
  
Rime agreed. "Mia, huh? Well, it definitely starts with a 'Me'!"  
  
"And all that's left is the 'ya' part." Geode said thoughtfully. "Do you think that has an 'h' at the end, or not?"  
  
"Well, the 'h' makes it look pretty, and Mia's pretty, so I think it does!"  
  
"That didn't even make sense!" Geode argued as Rime wrote 'Meyah' on the card.  
  
"Does too!" Rime retorted, pulling out the next blank name card.  
  
All in all, the results were Eyesak and Meyah, Eyeven and Sheebaah, Genah and Garrat, Feeles (they weren't all that familiar with the letter 'x') and Fesee, and Pekared and Hemah.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----  
  
Kite and Luff eyed the apple tree apprehensively. "Sooo" Kite said hesitantly. "How are we going to do this? Each one of those apples is bigger then we are!"  
  
"And we'll make blueberry pie, and pumpkin pie, and apple pie, and...."  
  
"Aroma, shut up!" Kite said irritably. "Help us here!"  
  
"Okay!" Aroma said happily.  
  
Luff chuckled. "Don't worry so much, Kite! I..." here he struck a noble pose, "have a Plan!"  
  
Kite looked at him, unimpressed. "And what might that be?"  
  
Luff scurried off to the nearest bush, and came back, dragging Isaac's Catch Beads. "Well use these!" he said cheerfully.  
  
Kite thought for a moment, then nodded. "I suppose that'll work." She turned to look at the beads. "Um, does Isaac know you have those?"  
  
Luff shook his head. "Nope! And he doesn't need to know, does he?"  
  
Aroma pounced on the beads. "Ooh! Let me go first! Me! Me!"  
  
Kite rolled her eyes. "Why'd we have to bring her along anyways?!"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
Kindle eyed the glowing stove happily. "There, I think the fire is ready for cooking!"  
  
Fugue nodded. "Now, all we need to do is get the turkey and cook it!"  
  
They decided to leave Spark behind to tend the fire and keep any other Mars Djinn far away from it, while Kindle, Fugue, and Core went after the turkey.  
  
'Borrowing' Ivan's Teleport Lapis, they teleported a little ways out of town to the farm on which the Venus Adept Alan lived. Salt and Meld were already there, collecting potatoes. Meld, thankfully a very sensible djinn, was trying to convince Salt that half the pile they had collected would suffice.  
  
Core hopped up to the already confused Alan, tugging on his pant leg to make him notice her. "Turkey. Now." she said simply.  
  
"What?" Alan asked, scratching his head. "First those Venus Djinn come up asking for potatoes, and now Mars Djinn asking for a turkey?"  
  
"Core!" Kindle frowned. "That was kinda rude!"  
  
Core rolled her eyes. "Turkey. Now. Please."  
  
Kindle nodded, satisfied. "Much better."  
  
"Er, sure." Alan said uncertainly. It usually wasn't wise to argue with a djinn, especially with a Mars Djinn. "And, um, might I ask what's going on?"  
  
"No, for what we do must remain secret, lest the knowledge seeps out to those whose ears aren't supposed to hear such information, and we be forced to suffer the one responsible a slow and painful death by fire and flames!" Fugue let a little flame surround her, just for effect.  
  
Kindle rolled his eyes. "Jeez, Fugue! You almost sound like Fury!" He turned to the nervous farmer. "We're throwing a Valentine's Banquet for our Adepts." he explained.  
  
"Well, that helps to clear things up!" Alan grinned broadly. "I have a bunch of them in a pen in the back, with the chickens. Pick one out, and I'll kill and clean it for you. Happy to help!"  
  
Kindle herded Fugue and Core to the back. "Thanks. We'll be back in a minute."  
  
Fugue pouted. "You totally ruined my cool effect! Didn't you see him trembling before me?"  
  
Kindle shook his head. "Not now, Fugue. We have to get the turkey ready for the banquet!"  
  
"Turkey." Core agreed.  
  
The three djinn hopped up on the fence and observed the mix of turkeys and chickens in the pen before them.  
  
"So, um, which one?" Kindle asked.  
  
"I don't know!" Fugue said irritably. "Just pick one!"  
  
Kindle glanced over the lot. After a moment, he spoke up again. "Ya know, just look at them. Enjoying life without a care in the world. Not a clue that in a few minutes, one of their comrades will be plucked from their midst and brutally slaughtered."  
  
"Kindle..." Fugue glanced at him in annoyance. "They're just stupid birds!"  
  
"Yeah, I know..." Kindle was silent for a moment, watching the turkeys walk around, pecking at the ground and making the occasional 'gobble' noise. "I wonder if the turkeys hold a funeral or something for the one taken away? It's mate comforted by its family members as they all weep in sorrow, remembering all the times they had together, the memories shared..."  
  
Kindle, they're just STUPID BIRDS!" Fugue was angry now.  
  
"I...I can't!" Kindle turned away. "I can't condemn an innocent life to death..."  
  
Fugue rolled his eyes. "Oh, for Mar's Sake!" He glared over the turkeys. "There. That one. We'll take that one."  
  
As if it knew they were talking about it, the turkey Fugue had chosen made its way towards the fence, strutting as it walked.  
  
Kindle looked at it sadly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Turkey, but Fugue says you have to die."  
  
The turkey made a gobbling noise, then turned its head as it spotted a piece of grain on the grass, its head darting down and snatching it up greedily.  
  
"W-what?" Fugue sputtered. "I said no such...I mean, its just a bird and....we need..."  
  
"Fugue," Kindle said calmly. "You look that turkey in its shining black eyes full of life and happiness, and you explain to it why you condemned it to die, what it should tell its wife and children, how it should say its tearful farewell to its mother..."  
  
Fugue stared determinedly down at the turkey. "This is stupid! It's just a stupid bird!"  
  
The turkey glanced up at Fugue, then gave a 'gobble', tilting its head inquisitively.  
  
Alan felt a tugging on his pant leg again. He glanced down to see Core down by his feet, a triumphant Kindle and a grumbling Fugue not far off.  
  
"Watermelon." Core said simply. "Now. And Corn." He noticed the look Kindle gave him. "Please."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----  
  
"C'mon, Meld! Help me pull!" Salt complained.  
  
"I am!" Meld growled back, trying not to lose his temper.  
  
The two djinn were both pulling a small cart loaded with potatoes. Thankfully, djinn were extremely strong creatures for their sizes, so they had very little trouble. That didn't stop Salt from complaining.  
  
"And why didn't we think of using the Teleport Lapis like the three Mars djinn? No, we had to use a stupid cart! It'll take forever!"  
  
"Salt, it isn't going to take that long." Meld rolled his eyes. "Just...I don't know...think happy thoughts or something."  
  
"Like the mashed potatoes we're going to make?" Salt perked up. "With gravy?" Salt had this really weird obsession with food. Though djinn didn't eat, Salt had more then one time startled an Adept by staring intently at their plate of food. Vegetables especially fascinated him.  
  
"Yes..." Meld sighed, wondering why on earth he got stuck with him. "Like the mashed potatoes."  
  
Meanwhile.... amidst a grove of large trees onto of the steep hill above them...  
  
"Go get more firewood, Iron...You're a Venus Djinn, so it'll be a snap for you..." Iron was complaining full tilt.  
  
Steel glared at him. "Oh, shut up. It's not as if I enjoy it any more then you do! Especially since I have to go with you!"  
  
Iron glared right back. "Oh, you're just jealous because I joined Felix before you did!"  
  
"Am NOT!" Steel growled. "And I think *you're* just jealous, because all you have is that nansy-pansy defense booster for your attack!"  
  
"As if yours is much better!" Iron retorted. He made an overly sugary face. "'Siphon's a foe's health WITH A KISS!'Ooh! It's the djinn of love! I take it back, you're perfect for this holiday!"  
  
Steel growled. "If you know what's good for you, you'll silence that poor overworked jaw of yours!"  
  
"Kissy kissy!" Iron made some puckering noises.  
  
"I said to drop it!" Steel turned and struck a tree, causing it to fall and crash to the forest floor, a skill all Venus Djinn possessed.  
  
Iron smirked. "You call that cutting down a tree?" He turned and attacked a slightly larger tree, cracking the base and sending it crashing down as well, sending a small cloud of dust and leaves in the air.  
  
"Ha! Watch this!" Steel found an even bigger tree. *Crash*  
  
"Wimp! Watch this!" *CRASH*  
  
"Ha!" Steel glanced around, then his eyes landed on the largest tree in that particular grove, sitting on the very edge of the clearing. Summoning all his power, he slammed into it.  
  
There was a loud crack, and the tree shuddered before slowly tipping over and crashing to the ground. It didn't stop there. Having landed on the hill, it began to roll down it, slowly at first, but quickly picking up speed, crashing and bouncing the entire way down.  
  
Meld was the first one to noticed the tree bouncing down the hill, straight at them and the wagon.  
  
"Ack! Abandon Wagon!" he yelped, throwing himself loose of the wagon.  
  
"What?" Salt protested. "What about the potatoes?"  
  
"What about that tree hurtling down at us?" Meld retorted, grabbing Salt and yanking him away. Just in time, too, as a split second later, the giant tree crashed onto the wagon and came to a rest.  
  
"The potatoes!" Salt wailed as if he lost a loved one.  
  
Steel and Iron tumbled down the hill, coming to a stop next to the tree.  
  
Iron stood up first. "It was his fault!" he said, accusing Steel.  
  
Steel leapt to his feet indignantly. "It was not, you oversized rat! Besides, you started it!"  
  
"Did not!" Iron retorted.  
  
"What were you guys doing up there, anyways?" Meld asked, trying to avoid the repetitive argument soon to happen. "Besides arguing, that is?"  
  
"We were sent to get firewood. And you?"  
  
"We were getting potatoes, for the supper." Meld answered, eyeing the smashed cart under the tree.  
  
"Mashed Potatoes!" Salt wailed again. "With gravy."  
  
The four Venus djinn stared at the mess in silence for a moment.  
  
"You know..." Steel said thoughtfully. "I suppose you could think of the potatoes as 'Pre-Mashed'."  
  
"Pick out the sticks and bark, and it'll be good as new!" Iron agreed.  
  
"With an added 'Rustic Taste'!" Steel added eagerly.  
  
"Really?" Salt sounded hopeful.  
  
Meld sighed. What was with these two djinn? They're either fighting or agreeing. The agreeing part was much more frightening, as it usually only happened right after they did something bad.  
  
He nudged a piece of the smashed cart. "Well, and I suppose you got your firewood here as well!" he said sarcastically.  
  
"By Venus, he's right!" Steel said with excitement.  
  
"Two birds with one stone! I'm a genius!" Iron said proudly.  
  
"Hey, I was the one who knocked the tree over!" Steel protested.  
  
"It was my idea!" Iron argued, glaring at him.  
  
Salt was admiring his 'Mashed Potatoes'  
  
Meld sighed. Was he the only sane one here?  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----  
  
"I told you!" Reflux the Mars Djinn paced around the floor angrily. "I told you it was a bad idea leaving her in charge of the flowers!"  
  
Flower pouted. "I think they're pretty!"  
  
Echo sighed. She was normally good-tempered, but this... "Flower... what on earth possessed you to do this?!"  
  
"Pretty!" Flower pouted. "And different."  
  
"B-but the roses are green!" Echo protested. "With red stems!"  
  
"Pretty!" Flower stood stubbornly by her statement.  
  
Flint comforted his horrified sister. "Think of the bright side, Echo. She didn't make that many?"  
  
"Enough for every single one of the Adepts!" Flower said happily.  
  
Echo still couldn't say anything.  
  
"We'll just put one by each of their plates." Flint said comfortingly. "They are unique, and I'm sure the Adepts won't mind. Besides, Vine, Sap, and Mud did a good job, didn't they?"  
  
"Er, Flint?" Tonic's hesitant voice spoke up  
  
"Yes?" Flint was almost afraid to turn around.  
  
"I...I'm afraid there was a teeny, tiny problem with the soup..." Tonic's normally soft voice was barely above a whisper.  
  
Flint had a sinking feeling in his gut. "What?"  
  
Tonic took a deep breath before continuing rapidly, as if he couldn't get the words out fast enough. "Well, Char tried to sneak into the kitchen to play with the fire in the stove but he was spotted really fast, as he was trying to sneak in dressed as a bush, so Spark yelled at him and he burned the bush he was hiding in and started a fire so me and Spring put out the fire while Whorl chased him all around the kitchen and they were going really really fast and Whorl was faster then Char so Char started to climb the cupboards to get away and he...knocked a whole bag of flour over and it landed in the soup." He took a deep breath.  
  
"Oh, no..." Flint groaned.  
  
Echo grinned smugly. "Oh, think of the bright side, Flint!"  
  
"Which is...?" he glared at her.  
  
Echo thought for a moment. "Um, that Char didn't fall in and totally ruin it?"  
  
"Isn't it already ruined?" Flint growled unhappily.  
  
"No, I think we might be able to salvage it." Tonic interrupted softly. "Might be a little thick, though..."  
  
"No, it'll be fine!" Flint said quickly. "We don't have time to start a new batch."  
  
Suddenly there was the sounds of two djinn bickering.  
  
"It'll hold!"  
  
"No it won't!"  
  
"Yes it will!"  
  
"This is your fault!"  
  
Flint and Echo hurried over to see Petra the Venus Djinn and Shine the Mars Djinn arguing.  
  
"He-ey, aren't you two supposed help put out chairs?" Echo asked.  
  
The moment they heard Echo's voice, both djinn jumped and immediately looked extrememly innocent.  
  
"What's going on here?" Flint asked suspiciously.  
  
"Nothing!" Shine said, forcing a grin. "We're just putting out chairs! Right Petra?" She thwaped him on the back of the head with her tail.  
  
"Huh? Oh! Yeah! Um, just putting out chairs!" Petra nodded. "Which we should be doing now! Got to put out those chairs!"  
  
"Yup! Bye!" Shine smiled tightly, and the both of them hurried over to the nearest chair and hurriedly pushed it across the room.  
  
"Those two are up to something..." Flint said suspiciously.  
  
"Ey-yup!" Echo was watching them carefully as well.  
  
"Fury! Stop that!" Chill yelped out.  
  
Both Venus Djinn whirled around to see Fury making a mad dash across the table, attacking the candles.  
  
"YES! Burn Little Waxy Things!" Fury laughed wildly. "BURN! Let the FLAMES spread wildly and consume all! My plans of World Domination are flawless! Mwhahahaha!"  
  
Chill pounced on him and drenched him with a douse. "So, your plans of world domination consist of melting candles." he said wryly. "Brilliant!'  
  
Fury sputtered at getting soaked. "SILENCE mere mortal! Soon you will fall before me as well!"  
  
"Isn't it ironic to yell the word silence?" Forge was attracted to the noise, and had to put in his comment.  
  
Flint sighed. "Will somebody put him back in his cage?"  
  
"Look. The candles are a *lot* shorter now!" Echo observed.  
  
"Oh, Flint! And Echo! We were looking for the both of you!" Fog came waddling into view, along with Fizz, Breath, Cannon, and Gust. Forge tagged along.  
  
"We're almost ready for the Adepts!" Gust said cheerfully.  
  
"Which is a good thing, considering they should be arriving in, what, an hour?" Forge commented.  
  
"An hour?!" Flint yelped. "That soon?!"  
  
"Well, we're almost done decorating." Echo nodded. "Table cloth, flowers," she coughed slightly at that one, "candles, be they kinda short, I think we're ready!"  
  
"What about the food?" Forge wanted to know.  
  
"Well," Cannon started. "The potatoes are ready, though I saw Meld and Salt carrying a lot of sticks back and forth. They must've helped Iron and Steel with the firewood duty. Tonic and  
  
Spring said the soup was ready, though they wouldn't let me look at it, and Fugue, Core, and Kindle assure me that the Turkey is ready, though they looked a little guilty about it."  
  
"Alright." If Flint had hands, he would've been rubbing his temples. "Who would've thought this would be so difficult?!"  
  
"Don't worry, Flint!" Echo said cheerfully. "It'll work out!"  
  
"I hope so!" he sighed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Stage Three: Supper~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Isaac straightened his suit a little. "I'm not sure about this!" he said nervously. "I mean, these is our djinn we're talking about!"  
  
Mia smiled and helped him with his tie. "Yes, and I'm sure they tried as hard as they could to make this perfect for us!"  
  
He smiled back at her. "Have I told you yet how beautiful you look in that dress?"  
  
She chuckled. "Yes, several times since we left ten minutes ago!"  
  
Isaac grinned. "And it's as true now as it was last time I said it!"  
  
Mia blushed, then pointed. "Hey, look! There's Jenna, Garet, Ivan, and Sheba already!"  
  
Garet didn't look happy. Jenna had made him comb his hair, and it drooped down past his shoulders, neatly parted in the middle. He glared at Isaac. "Not a word..." he warned him.  
  
"Why, I wouldn't think about it!" Isaac grinned. "Not with Jenna standing there!"  
  
"Yeah, good idea." Ivan said ruefully, rubbing his sore head. "I, unfortunately, didn't possess as much willpower."  
  
Jenna glared at him. "I think he looks cute!"  
  
Sheba grinned and kissed Ivan lightly on the cheek. "Not as cute as Ivan!"  
  
"Sheba!" Ivan turned red.  
  
"Oh, come on. We can choose the cutest couple later!" Felix and Feizhi walked up, hand in hand. "We have a banquet to attend!" Picard and Hama were right behind them.  
  
"Right." Isaac nodded. "Everybody here?"  
  
"I think the more appropriate question is 'Everybody ready?'" Ivan said wryly.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------  
  
They stepped nervously into the barn, ready for anything.  
  
"Hey, wow!" Feizhi said in awe. "It's beautiful!"  
  
"Not shabby!" Jenna said, looking around. "Not shabby at all!"  
  
"They're here!" The sound of several djinn rang out, and suddenly Flint appeared, looking nervous and relieved all at once.  
  
"Good! You made it! Now, you will be shown to your seat, and supper will be served shortly."  
  
Echo showed up to lead Felix and Feizhi to their seats, a flower on her head for show. Fizz, also with a flower, lead Isaac and Mia, while they all agreed that Breath should escort Ivan and Sheba, as Gust couldn't be trusted not to break out into her poem. He had a small black bow tied around his neck, as did Forge and Fog, who led their corresponding Adepts to their seats.  
  
Each couple was seated across from each other, candles near-by.  
  
"Hey, look at the name tags!" Hama smiled, hold them up.  
  
"Did we do a good job?" Rime asked proudly.  
  
Felix looked his over, trying not to laugh. "Yeah, Feeles, that's perfect, you guys!"  
  
Geode puffed up. "See Rime? I told you we did good!"  
  
"Hmm." Sheba frowned as she sat down. "The candles look a little scorched and melted. I wonder what happened?"  
  
"Knowing the djinn, a Mars Djinn was involved." Ivan smiled, taking a seat as well.  
  
"Hmm," Felix said, examining the rose on the plate next to him. "Very...unique!"  
  
"Aw, I think it's clever!" Feizhi smiled, smelling her own green-petaled rose happily.  
  
"Ack!" There was a crash as Garet's chair gave out underneath him.  
  
"I told you it wouldn't hold!" A voice from the kitchen snickered.  
  
"Shut up, Petra!"  
  
"Hey, you were the one who burned the leg off, then tried replacing it with one of the candles!"  
  
"Er, we need another chair..." Flint groaned.  
  
After Garet gingerly sat on his new chair, half afraid that this one too would give out, the djinn started to wheel out the food.  
  
"Ooh! Mashed potatoes!" Felix grinned, lifting one of the covers off a dish and smelling it.  
  
"Er, actually, that's soup." Spring said apologetically.  
  
"I'm sure it's still good!" Mia smiled, scooping some out onto her plate. It stuck to the ladle, so she used her spoon to scrape it off.  
  
"Here's the Mashed Potatoes!" Salt said proudly as Meld pushed the cart he was riding on in the room. The Adepts scooped some on each of there plates. "With gravy!"  
  
"Um, is this...a pinecone?" Picard asked, poking his food with his fork cautiously.  
  
Meld, Steel, and Iron all looked guilty. "Um, have no idea how that got in there!" Meld chuckled nervously.  
  
"PIE!" Aroma said happily, wheeling out the pies with Luff and Kite's help.  
  
"Um, we dropped Isaac's Catch Beads in there, so be careful when you bite down..." Luff chuckled nervously.  
  
"WHAT?!" Isaac asked incredeously.  
  
"Er, let's just get the turkey out here!" Flint sighed. This wasn't turning out as perfectly as he'd hoped.  
  
Kindle, Core, and Fugue pushed out the cart with a covered dish on top. Kindle looked up nervously. "Before you take the cover off, there's one little detail I think I should tell you..."  
  
Garet didn't hear him. "Yum! Turkey!" He reached over and removed the lid.  
  
All the Adepts stared.  
  
"That's...um..." Hama started.  
  
"...a watermelon?" Picard finished for her, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Hey, you guys will be glad to know that an entire turkey family is thankful for this watermelon!" Kindle said defensively. "Why, we spared them a lot of grief and sorrow! And the kids! Think of the kids!"  
  
"Just for the record, I had nothing to do with this!" Fugue grumbled.  
  
"Oh, look!" Feizhi squealed. "They stuck two ears of corn into the back to look like drumsticks! How cute!"  
  
Isaac noticed Flint's horrified face and chuckled, patting the tiny creature on the head. "Don't worry, pal! It's great! Everybody here *loves* watermelon! I'll go get a knife and cut it, and we'll chow down!"  
  
"I'll get a knife!" Smog volunteered. Before anybody could say anything, he rushed into the kitchen.  
  
"Lessee, knife, knife, knife...ooh! A knife!" He noticed a bunch of neatly put away in a block of wood with several slits cut in it that they fit in. He jumped up there and, selecting the biggest one, worked on pulling it out.  
  
It finally slid free of the wooden block and clattered to the counter below, resting on the edge. Unfortunately, Smog quickly lost his balance and fell after it, striking the handle of the knife, which was hanging over the edge of the counter, and sending it catapulting into the next room.  
  
Isaac's warrior instinct served him well here, as he instinctively ducked. Something whizzed over his head, and there was a 'thunk' as the knife embedded itself in the wall behind him.  
  
"Oops! Sorry!" Smog apologized from the kitchen floor.  
  
"Well, that'll work, I suppose..." Isaac said, twisting to dislodge the knife from the wall.  
  
He was just about to cut the turkey/watermelon, when Chill's voice cried out.  
  
"Hey! How'd you get loose?"  
  
"FREEEE! PUNY MORTAL!! No cage can contain my might and power!"  
  
"Um, I think he chewed his way out!" Gust's helpful voice chimed in.  
  
"Now, the world shall be MINE!"  
  
Fury darted out of the kitchen, Chill close in pursuit.  
  
"Get back here, you stupid Mars Djinn!"  
  
"And all shall bow to me, and call me MASTER!!"  
  
Fury dodged Chill and landed on the soup ladle, sending some flying. The paste, of course, smacked Sheba right in the face.  
  
"Now look what you did!" Chill scolded him.  
  
Whorl, always a fan of the chase, soon joined in, though if he were chasing Chill or Fury was anybody's guess.  
  
"You know, Sheba!" Ivan teased. "You look so cute with soup plastered on your face!"  
  
"Really?!" she smiled in a dangerous way. "I wonder if you'd look the same?"  
  
With that, she scooped up some mashed potatoes and, before he could protest, leaned over and plastered it on his face.  
  
She sat back down and wiped her hands on her napkin. "Yup!" she said sweetly. "You look really cute too!"  
  
"Hey!" Gust quickly came to the defense of her Adept. "Nobody does that to Ivan!" She hopped on a spoon, flinging gravy Sheba's way.  
  
Sheba quickly ducked, and the gravy splattered across the side of Jenna's face. Jenna glared around murderously.  
  
Garet reached over and scooped some off. "Mm! Gravy!"  
  
"I'll give you gravy!" Jenna snarled, pretending to be upset. She dumped an entire ladleful on him, causing it to run down his long, currently drooping hair.  
  
"Fury! Quit it! You're ruining the banquet!" Chill yelped.  
  
"And I shall lay entire cities to ruin as well, before I'm finished!" Fury laughed maniacally, before once again turning his full attention to dodging.  
  
A food fight was inevitable with this kind of set up. Most of the seventy- two djinn got involved as well, doing their best to aid and defend their Adept and his/her loved one.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Stage Four: Conclusion~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was well into the night before the food fight was completely over. The Adepts were now laying in various places across the food splattered room, resting. Most of the djinn were exhausted as well. Even Fury was pooped.  
  
Flint sat in a corner, miserable. Echo hopped up to him. "Flint, are you okay?" she asked, concerned.  
  
"No!" he growled. "I just wanted to have the perfect Valentine's Dinner for the Adepts, but everything was ruined!"  
  
Echo smiled. "Flint, you idiot! Everything was not ruined!"  
  
He glared up at her. "Yes it was! Look at what happened!" She laughed. "Yes, Flint. Look at what happened!" She moved aside so he could see better.  
  
Mia was leaning against Isaac's chest, while he slowly stroked her hair and hummed softly, almost asleep himself.  
  
Ivan and Sheba were totally out of it, snuggled together in a corner, their mouths hanging open while they snored softly.  
  
Picard and Hama were sitting side by side, neither sleeping, but both content to just sit there and smile at each other.  
  
Feizhi was laying across Felix's lap, sound asleep. Felix looked as if he were sleeping as well, but the content smile on his lips gave him away.  
  
Garet *had* been sleeping, but his loud snoring had annoyed Jenna to the extent that she elbowed him awake and they now sat across from each other at the table, for once just talking and enjoying each other's presence.  
  
"See?" Echo told him. "Everybody had fun, and everybody is now happy just being with their other. I think it was a pretty successful Valentine's Day, albeit a little strange." She gave him a lopsided grin. "But we're djinn! We're supposed to shake things up a little!"  
  
"They do look really happy." Flint admitted. "Although, covered with food, you can hardly tell..."  
  
Echo chuckled. "That's just your way of admitting I'm right!" She grinned at him. "Happy Valentine's day, brother."  
  
"Happy Valentine's day, sister."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Wow! Turned out to be a *lot* longer then I thought it would! Sorry if the last few pages seemed rushed, but I finished them in about forty-five minute! I wanted to get this up today! And I'll tell you, it's HARD working with seventy-two djinn!  
  
Just wanted to dedicate this one to my friends in the Guild of the Quill! Happy Valentine's Day, guys! (And gals)! 


End file.
